Cognitive load in individuals with a transfemoral amputation during single- and dual-task walking: a pilot study of brain activity in people using a socket prosthesis or a bone-anchored prosthesis.

This was a pilot with 8 socket prosthesis users and 8 bone-anchored prosthesis users, so it cannot test whether prosthesis type caused differences or be generalised. Participants were existing users, not assigned to prosthesis type, so unmeasured reasons for choosing a bone-anchored prosthesis could affect the results. Residual limb length was not controlled, and shorter residual limbs may be more common in people who choose bone-anchored prostheses. Specific microprocessor-controlled knee types were not controlled, which could affect brain activity. The brain-activity method cannot resolve events within a single gait cycle, and short-separation channels were not available to remove some non-brain signal. Data for 2 participants were missing because of technical difficulties. Only oxygenated haemoglobin was analysed, not total or deoxygenated haemoglobin.

Do not conclude that bone-anchored prostheses reduce cognitive load during walking. This pilot compared existing users and found similar brain activity between groups, and it was too small to test whether prosthesis type caused any difference.